Deleted Scene: Accidentally In Love

Party Phase 2

-Dalton Thackeray, Band Manager of Upward Voyager-

Thack was just glad that it was all over. His time on the stage was short, and it had now come to an end. The crowd thought it was funny, and though Thack had been really nervous, he wasn’t mad at his friends. If anything, he was mad at himself. This was his chance to make a good impression on Calliope, but he couldn’t do it. He looked like a fool up there… 

But, it was over. He had a new pair of pants, that thankfully looked like the old pair. Nobody could tell that he soiled them in surprise and fear. There were already so many people watching him, and Thack had tunnel vision into the crowd. He totally wasn’t expecting to hear Midnight’s Muse behind him, and seeing Kat and Andromeda beside him instead of his close friends sent him over the edge. He really should have gone to the bathroom before it was his turn to sing, but he was so anxious about missing it while in the bathroom that he thought he could just hold it. 

Thack was a little bit bitter that his band had ruined his chances with the beautiful keyboardist, but maybe it just wasn’t meant to be. They were still his friends, after all. They each checked up on him afterwards to make sure he was alright, and offered a little encouragement. He was thankful for that much at least. 

“Hey Thack…” Thack turned around to see the last of his band members there. He gave a small smile. 

“Hi Phil,” he said. “I’m okay. Don’t worry about me.” 

Phil sat next to him. “You took it like a champ,” he said. 

Thack laughed a little bit. “Calliope wouldn’t say that.” Thack frowned, thinking about her beautiful face. He was always really shy around the girl and thought it impossible that she didn’t know about his giant crush on her. But if she could tell, it seemed that she wasn’t disgusted or opposed, because she continued to be friendly to him. 

“Thack, of course she would,” Phil said. “I think she understood just how intense it was for you. We all did.” 

“I don’t know,” he said nervously, sighing. “I’m not the strong type of guy…” 

“Well, if Calliope doesn’t accept you for being a soft guy, then she doesn’t deserve you. But I know Calliope, and I don’t think she’s that shallow.” 

Thack smiled, thankful that his friend was trying to console him. “Thanks, but I think I’m just going to hang out here for the rest of the night.” 

“Well…” Phil said. “We want you to sing again.” 

Thack felt untrusting, but he couldn’t believe that Phil would lie to him a second time about this. 

“I don’t think I can,” Thack said. “I don’t want to sing another silly baby song.” 

“Accidentally in love,” Phil said. Thack looked up, shocked. 

“I couldn’t…” he said quietly. The last time he’d sung that song, he was just in the studio after hours messing around. It was supposed to be Phil’s song, but once the band heard it, they insisted that they put Thack in as a bonus track. But… That was different. That track had touch-ups and autotune to help Thack sound on-par with the rest of the band. 

“Out of Spite’s set list is next, and we’re going to supplement them anyways,” Phil said. The smaller Capitol band had rose to fame with their EP, and Upward Voyager became like mentors to them to fill out their sound and make them into the pop/rock band they wanted to be with a full set of instruments. “Let us give you the moment you deserve.” 

Thack bit his lip nervously. “I can’t do it without the touch-ups,” he said. 

“We’ll turn them on for your mic,” Phil said. “What do you think? Will you do it?” 

Thack’s heart started to pound. “Can I pee first?” he asked. 

Phil laughed a little. “Definitely pee first.” 

Thack nodded and hurried to the closest bathroom. 

As he was walking back to the stage again, heart pounding, a familiar face was standing by the wing, waiting for him. 

“Hi Thack!” Calliope said, giving him a big smile. 

Thack immediately felt heat rushing to his cheeks. “Hi Calliope…” he said, immediately feeling nervous. 

“Phil just told me that you’re going to sing with Out of Spite!” she said. “I hurried over here so I could wish you good luck.” 

Thack could feel a smile spread across his face. Maybe he hadn’t totally flubbed his chances after all… If he even had a chance in the first place. Which he still wasn’t really sure about. 

“Golly, thanks Calliope…” 

“I’ll be in the very front cheering you on!” she said, reaching out and taking his hands in her own. “You took our swap in stride, but I’m glad you get to have this moment.” She gave his hands a gentle, yet firm squeeze. 

Thack could feel his own dumb smile as she turned around and walked away, looking over her shoulder to wave at him, and he waved back, watching how her hair flipped as she turned back around. 

Thack went backstage, feeling unsure about how he was going to pull this off. But knowing that he had people in the crowd that were supporting him made him feel better. 

Thack watched as Out of Spite started their set, charming the crowd with their young energy. Thack wasn’t sure the crowd would want to see him up there. Phil, who was playing keyboard closer to the back of the stage so he didn’t steal the attention, gave Thack a look as the enthused head singer Hosanna was hyping up the crowd. Thor was also supplementing them on the bass, and Wolf occasionally filled in drums when Theodore wanted to leave the set to sing. In the young band’s EP, they synchronized clips of them playing different instruments together, but since they couldn’t do it live, they had people fill in.

The crowd loved the young energy: they were still teens, while Upward Voyager was now far more mature in age and in content. The two young men had many admirers standing in the front row especially.

Thack took a deep breath and gave Phil a nod, indicating that he was ready. Phil gave a signal to Hosanna, who prepared the crowd for his entrance. 

“For his no-pranks-attached singing debut, please welcome Dalton Thackeray!”

Thack nervously walked on stage as the rest of his bandmates either came forward or came out from the wings to join the band of teens on the stage. He walked out on stage last, mostly because he was feeling completely nervous, but when he felt the spotlight on his face again, everyone in the crowd was cheering for him. He didn’t have to squint to see Ambrose in the front, holding up a sign for Thor even though he was in the back just supplementing, and every member of Midnight’s Muse standing in the front row, clapping and cheering. Kat even gave a whistle. 

Thack gave the crowd a nervous smile and a wave. “Thank you,” he said, jumping at the sound of his own magnified voice. It was so loud! “So, um…” his legs were shaking, so he pulled up the stool he was given to sit on and took a seat, nervously grabbing the mic with both hands because he still felt like he was going to fall over. “The song I’m going to sing is um, one that I first sang as a deleted track on our latest album…” Many in the crowd knew what it was going to be and already started cheering and applauding. 

“I was just messing around and being silly though. But while I was, I had one person in my mind. Someone that is beautiful and kind, and a wonderful friend. I would want nothing more than to have her be my girl, but I’ve always been too afraid to press my luck when she’s already such an amazing friend.” The crowd was cheering and whistling and getting excited. There was no going back now. Thack was shaking as he grabbed the microphone, trying to gather all his courage. “I dedicate this song to Calliope Fortier. And, uh, I’m sorry if it’s really bad,” he said, nervously looking down to where she was standing in the crowd. Kat was punching her arm excitedly, and Calliope blew him a kiss, her face as red as her hair. Thack caught the kiss, so giddy he didn’t even notice the band starting to play and almost missed his entrance. 

Thack knew that the autotune would clean up his vocals, and seeing Calliope and Kat dancing around in the front made him lose all of his worries, even for just a moment. 

He didn’t even notice that the mic they gave him had no altercations or autotune at all. 

After the performance, the crowd went crazy. Thack felt himself grin as he gave them a small wave, sending louder waves of applause through them. His bandmates all came to give him a pat on the back and congratulate him. Thack grinned at the proud smiles and laughter he got. Hosanna came back to the stage to present them one last time, and then Thack and the band went back to the wing. 

Like she was before, Calliope was waiting right outside the right wing to the stage. She was staring at the ground when he approached, which made him nervous. But when he got closer, he could see that she was sporadically giggling as he got nearer. 

“Hi.” 

Calliope looked up at him before thrusting out her hand towards him, a bouquet of red, white, and pink peony flowers in her hands that she must have bought from one of the vendors spread out across Main Street. 

Thack’s face was as red as the flower, which was funny because his hair was as pink as the pink flowers. 

“I thought that was really brave,” Calliope said. Thack looked at the flowers, suddenly worried. That was a classic beginning to an I don’t feel the same way speech. “It made my night.” 

“You made my night by giving me flowers,” Thack said with a laugh. “Thank you. That’s so thoughtful…” She knew that he’d always wanted to receive flowers, even though guys usually gave the flowers. 

“Perhaps we can make each other’s night again,” Calliope said. Thack’s heart started pounding harder as she reached out and took his hands again. “Can I kiss you?” 

Thack could feel his mouth hanging open. “Who, me!?” 

Calliope tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “Yes, you!” 

Thack thought she would never ask that. “Please!” 

Calliope closed the distance between them slowly, but seeing how her eyes looked up at him as she gave him a nervous smile, Thack became impatient, scooping her face up in his hand and kissing her in a swooping motion. He pulled back, not wanting their first kiss to be obnoxiously long. He thought it was perfect, and the way she was smiling at him, he could gather she felt the same. He grinned when her foot slowly went down and back on the ground, where it had been put up with her toes pointing. 

She gave a cute little giggle. “So, does this mean we’re dating now?” she asked. 

“Well, that depends… Would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?” 

Calliope laughed and grabbed his hand. “Of course! Now come on, let’s go enjoy the rest of the party. I hope you peed recently, because our next stop is the roller coaster!” 

Thack grinned as she started towards the giant steel ride that both of them had been talking about and eyeing all night. 

.

The musicians were preparing for the big finale. Multiple groups were collaborating, and everyone had costumes based on the songs. Backstage was chaos, as the Cubanola Combo were warming up as they would dance. Singers were everywhere. 

Pluto came over just as Thack was about to take his seat behind the tech equipment. 

“I don’t feel good Thack,” they said, holding their stomach. 

Thack frowned, immediately concerned. “What’s wrong? Do you need meds? I should have some-” 

“No, I’m just having… Issues,” Pluto said, grabbing their stomach and letting out a groan. 

“How can I help you?” Thack asked, starting to panic and worry for his friend. 

“I just…” Pluto groaned again. “I gotta go now but I won’t be able to do my part in the finale. I need you to fill in for me.” 

Thack blinked, shocked. “Why me!? You should be asking Iggy, or Scorp, or-” 

“They won’t fit into my costume,” Pluto said. “Please agree! I have to go!” 

“I-” 

“THACK!” Pluto got very tense. “Please.” 

“Alright!” Thack said quickly, not wanting to keep Pluto any longer. 

“Thanks!” Pluto said. Thack watched as they hurried off, starting to laugh. Demetrius slid out from behind the wing and they ran away together, giggling like teenagers. Thack blinked, confused, and now suspicious as he went to try and figure out what was going on. 

Not like he didn’t know Pluto’s part. He’d been present for every rehearsal they’d been at. Wait. Pluto sang with Calliope. 

Thack was very suspicious now. Even moreso when his friends didn’t even ask questions when helping him into the outfit he would wear. Thack was going to interrogate them, but he lost his words when he saw Calliope in the deep yellow dress she would wear to sing with him. 

Thack smiled. His friends were certainly like sour candy. Sour and then sweet. Crazy, but compassionate. 

He watched as Wolf went out to begin the song. 

He wouldn’t have it any other way.